Counter molding machine



L. H. BNNION ET AL COUNTER MOLDING MACHINE May 24, 1938.

Filed Oct. 22, 1937 WMI Patented May 24, 1938 PATENT OFFICE COUNTERMOLDING MAGI'IINE Leslie Hugh Bennion and William Arnold Smart,Leicester, England Application October 22, 1937, Serial No. 170,495 InGreat Britain June 17, 1936 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for molding shoe parts and .is hereinillustrated as embodied in a machine for molding heel-stiffeners orcounters of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No.1,742,360, granted January 7, i936, on application of L. H. Bennion.

Machines of the type referred to comprise male and female moldsrelatively movable to shape the body portion of a counter blankpositioned between them, and a flange former movable across the faces ofthe molds to form anges upon the blank. The made mold is usuallyVaotuated by a heavy lever connected to an eccentric on a drive shaft bya yieldable connection which causes the lever to advance the male moldin two separate movements, followed by operation of the iiange former,after which the drive shaft is disconnected from its source of power andits direction of rotation is reversed under the action of a spring andWeight to cause the male mold and other parts to return to their initialoperative positions. Counter molding machines driven in this manner havebeen successfully operated and stand up well under the rough usage towhich they are subjected. However, in the operation of such a machine ithas been necessary to stop the machine between operations perlor-medupon Successive blanks and considerable skill has been required upon thepart of the operator to release the drive shaft at the proper time sothat the parts will stop in operative position for the presentation ofthe next blank. Other forms lof drive mechanisms for machines ci thistype have been devised some of which cause the drive shaft to rotatecontinuously in the same direction. However, such mechanisms have notproved to be satisfactory.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention toprovide in a machine of the 40 type referred to improved mechanism forcausing successive repetitions of the cycle of operatic-n of the machinethereby to relieve the oper- 'ato-r of the necessity for actuating aclutch between operations upon vsuccessive blanks, and, [i5 at the sametime, to provide mechanism which will stop the operating parts in properposition for the presentation of blanks.

To this end, and as shown, the invention provides a counter moldingmachine in which there is molding means, driving means for the moldingmeans, a clutch for operatively connecting the driving means to themolding means, a cam for causing engagement of the clutch, and meansoperated by a part of the machine movable to engage the work for causingdisengagement of CII thev clutch, together with a cam effective torender the clutch disengaging means operable only at a predeterminedstage in the Cycle of operation of the machine.

Preferably, the cam for causing engagement of the clutch is continuouslydriven thus to initiate repetitions of the operation of the machineWithout intervention of the operator, and the cam for operating theclutch disengaging means is so timed that the clutch Will be disengagedat the proper time to cause the operating parts to stop in theirpredetermined operative positions between successive cycles.

These and other features ofthe invention are disclosed'in the followingdetailed specification and in the accompanying drawing, and are pointedout in the appended claims.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a View in `side elevation of a portion of a machineillustrative of one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a prespective view of a portion of the latch mechanism ofFigure `1; and

Fig. 3 is a rear View of the cam mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 1, the illustrated machine comprises a heel shaped malemold ltl adapted to be moved in a height-wise direction to mold acounter blank positioned between it and a two part female mold l'll, |13and a ange former it arranged to move across the faces of the molds toform flanges on the counter blank.

The male mold I6! is raised by means of a large rocking lever |45 whichis mounted upon a pivot |43 and supports at its forward upper end atable|53 which carries the male mold IBI. At the rearsurface of the lowerpart of the lever |45 is .a guideway for a sliding block itil which ispivotally connected at Hi8 with an end-piece i353 xed to bolts |35, |31upon which are mount- 40 ed blocks |.3|, 33 which are pressed by a heavycompression spring MI frictionally to embrace an eccentric |219 on adrive shaft |25. The machine has a treadle rod m9 depression of whichoperates a clutch ill to secure a shaft |03 to a constantly rotatingpulley E95, thereby to drive the shaft I3 and also, through gears |2I,|23, the Yshaft |25. During the first part of the rotation of the shaftkthe frictional grip of the blocks |31, |33 on rthe eccentric |29 causesthe blocks to rotatewith the eccentric and the sliding `block lill iscarried downwardly to the foot of its guideway on the lever |45, therebyrocking the lever to cause the male mold |6| to rise upwardly into thefemale mold Ill, |13. On further rotation of the shaft 925 the blocksl3l, E33 slip on the eccentric and through the parts described the leverM35 is given an additional rocking movement to give an additional upwardmoven'ient to the male mold ll during which the female mold lli, H3,having closed during the first main upward movement of the male mold,yields upwardly. Immediately after this further upward movement of themale mold the flange former 85, actuated by a rod 93 which is pivotallyconnected to the gear i123 on the shaft 25, will have descendedsuiciently in its reciprocatory movement to operate upon the counterblank. As long as the Shaft |55 continues to rotate, it reciprocates themale mold itl in its secondary movement and also reciprocates the iiangeformer 85. When the shaft l25 is disconnected from its driving means aspring 59 in conjunction with a weight l2?, carried in an offsetposition on the gear E23 on the shaft E25, lifts the sliding block lfl'ito its uppermost position, thereby rocking the lever H55 to lower themale mold ii, the shaft E25 turning somewhat in the direction reverse toits driving direction.

The parts thus far described are similar in construction and inoperation to the corresponding part shown in the machine described inthe aforementioned Letters Patent No. 1,742,300 to which reference maybe had for a detailed description not herein set forth.

Mechanism is provided to relieve the operator of the necessity foractuating a clutch treadle to cause repetition of the cycle ofoperations and to cause the stopping of the operating parts betweencycles in proper position for the inser tion of a fresh counter blank.This mechanism includes a cam shaft 555 mounted in bearings at the rearportion of the machine andextending in a direction transverse of themachine. The cam shaft 555 is rotated at a constant speed by a beltwhich passes around a pulley 554 freely rotatable on the shaft 55S. Thepulley has secured thereto a small pinion 555 which meshes with a gear558 xed on a shaft 5i@ mounted in bearings in the machine frame. Theshaft 5l@ also has iixed thereto a pinion 5i2 which meshes with a gearSie fixed to the shaft 550. The arrangement described eifects rotationof the shaft 50@ at a considerably reduced speed as compared with thepulley 551i and enables the same factory shafting to be employed fordriving the shafts H33 and 555 without pulleys of excessive differencein size being employed on the shafting. The cam shaft is located abovethe level of a rockshaft H3 and lies more or less in the same verticalplane as the shaft 53. On the cam shaft are two cams, a cam, which maybe referred to as A, which is operative as hereinafter described tocause engagement of the said clutch of the machine and a cam, which maybe referred to as B, which is operative as hereinafter described tocontrol disengagement of the said clutch by movement of the flangeformer of the Inachine. Pivoted at its forward end at 516 to the frameof the machine and extending rearwardly from such pivot in asubstantially horizontal direction is a lever 5l@ which is pivoted atits rearward end to the lower end of an upstanding link 525 through aslot 522 in the upper end portion of which passes the shaft 55D. Thelink 525 has a laterally projecting stud 524 Xed thereto at its upperend and on this stud there is mounted a cam roll 526 which bears againstthe peripheral surface of the cam A being held thereagainst by means ofa tension spring 528 which is connected to the machine frame at itslower end and to the rear end of the lever 5l8 at its upper end.Pivotally mounted on a stud 539 laterally projecting from the lever 5l3at its middle portion is a two armed latch 532. A tension spring 535connected between the latch 532 and a pin on the lever 5i8 normallyserves to hold the latch in a position in which its upper arm 535 ismore or less horizontal and bears against a stop-pin 5&5 on the lever5l8 while its lower arm 5li2 is more or less vertical and overlies anarm 55,15 secured to and projecting to the left from the rockshaft H3.The main portion of the periphery of the cam A is circular but theremainder of the periphery of the cam constituting about 1/3 of theperiphery, forms an elevation 556 on the periphery. The arrangement issuch that when the cam roll 525 is at the said elevation on theperiphery the rear end portion of the lever 5&3 carrying the latch 532is raised the latch overlies but does not depress the arm 555 on therockshaft H3. In this position of the parts the clutch between thepulley |55 and the shaft M33 is disengaged. When, however, the cam Arotates, the cam roll 526 tracks on to the main part of the periphery ofthe cam A and the rear end portion of the lever 5l8 is lowered by theaction of the spring 528. This causes the latch 5%, which is thenprevented from rotating clockwise as looked at from the right by the pin5t@ already referred to on the lever, to depress the arm 5M on therockshaft H3, effecting oounterclockwise movement, as looked at from thefront of the machine, of the rockshat and engagement of the clutch whichwill remain engaged, while the main part of the periphery of the cam Arotates past its cam roll, until the latch 532 is displaced as will soonbe explained to allow the arm 545 on the rockshaft i i3 to rise and theclutch to be disengaged.

The iiange former is operated by means of an adjustable rod itl pivotedto the forward end of a lever E55 which is pivoted to the frame near itsmiddle portion and at its rear end has a rod 53 pivotally connected toit, the rod 93 at its lower end being connected to an eccentric pin (notshown) carried by the gear l23 on the drive shaft 25. In theillustrative arrangement now being described the pivot pin 5153 by whichthe rod |93 is connected with the lever 89 is laterally extended toenter a slot 555 in the upper end portion of an adjustable link 552which is pivotally connected at its lower end to an arm 555i iixed toand projecting forwardly from an end portion of a horizontal rockshaft556 which extends transversely of the machine and is mounted in suitablebearings near the top of the machine frame. A second arm 55E is iixed toand projects forwardly from the rockshaft 555, this second arm beinglocated near the right hand end of the rockshaft. To this second arm 558is pivotally connected the upper end of a substantially vertical rod 555which passes downwardly through a bore in a horizontal slidable bar 552arranged parallel or substantially so to the rockshaft I i3 and whichhas at its lower end a head 561i adapted, when the rodV 555 is moveddownwardly and when the position of the slidable bar 552 is such as toaliow this to happen, to depress the upper arm 52.3 of the latch 532.This will turn the latch 532 counterclockwise, as looked at from therighthand side of the machine, causing, assuming that the cam A haspreviously operated to cause the latch 532 to depress the arm 544 on therock- K gages the lower surfaceA of the slidable bar.

Shaft [i3 to .Cause engagement. 0f the aforesaid clutch, the lower arm5.42v of the latch 53? t0 be swung out of engagement with the varm 544on the rockshaft II3, allowing the arm 544 to rise under tension of aspring |88 andthe clutch ||1 to be disengaged. The position of theAslidable bar 562 is controlled by means of the cam B. The bar extends ina direction forwardly and rearwardly of the machine and is mounted forhorizontal sliding movement in bearings in a xed bracket 5,66 secured tothe machine frame. At its forward end the bar 562has a head 568 xedthereon and between this head and the bracket 566 is housed acompression spring 518 .which surrounds the bar. At its rearward end thebar 562 has a recessed portion which is embraced by the forkedlower endof a lever 512 which is pivoted near its middle portion on a xed pivot514 on the xed bracket 566 and at its upper end carries a stud 516 onwhich is mounted a cam roll 518 which bears against the periphery of thecam B, the compression .spring 51D serving to maintain the cam roll 518pressed against the periphery of the cam BQ The periphery of the cam Bis of a generally circular shape but has a raised portion 580occupyingabout nearly half of the periphery. The arrangement is such that whenthe cam roll 518 is engaging the main, or low, part of the cam B the bar562 is maintained in a forward position such that the head 564 at thelower end of the rod 560 is retained in a position forward of the arm538 of the latch 532 and so cannot engage this arm of the latch to allowdisengagement of the clutch. When, however, the cam roll 518 reaches theraised portion 588 of the cam B the slidable bar 562 is moved rearwardlyso that the head 564 of the rod 560 is brought into position over thearm 538 of the latch 532 and subsequent depression of the rod 560 iseffective to swing the latch to allow disengagement of the clutch. Therod 560 has a collar 582 fixed thereon a short distance above thelocality at which it passes through the bore in the slidable bar 562.Between the lower surface of this collar and the upper surface of theslidable bar 562 is housed a compression spring 584 which surrounds therod 588 and serves to urge it upwardly and normally maintain it in aposition in which the head 564 of the rod en- The arrangement is suchthat when during the operation oi the machine the flange former |85reciprocates, during the major portion of the movement of the flangeformer the pivot pin 548 at the rearward end of the lever |89 tracksidly in the slot 558 inthe link 552 but that when the ange former v| 85is approaching the top of its stroke (i. e., when the rearward end ofthe lever |89 is approaching the bottom of its stroke) the pivot pin 548engages the bottom of the slot 550 and serves to depress the link 552and so, through the'parts described, to depress the rod 560.

Considering now in greater detail the operation of the parts abovedescribed, the cam shaft 500 carrying the cams A and B will be assumedto be constantly rotating, conveniently at about 12 to 1 6 R. P. M. Itwill also be assumed that the clutch` l l1 is disengaged. As the cam Atracks round against its cam" roll 526 the clutch will be engaged, onaccount of the depression by the latch first to raise the male mold I6l,the sliding block 41 moving down to the footof its guideway, andv thenwith a secondary motion due to the eccentric |29 rto apply full moldingpressure to a blank between the molds, and the :iange former |85', afterhaving stopped in a raised position at the end of the previousoperation, will be reciprocated. On the rst downward and upward movementof the flange former 85 they cam B will be `engaging its cam roll 515with its low portion and thus, though when the flange former is near theend of its upward stroke the pivot pin 548at the rearward end of thelever |89 will depress the slotted link 552 causing depression of therod 566, the head 564 at the lower end of the rod 566 will not engagethe arm 538 of the latch 532 to allow disengagement of the clutch sincethe slidable bar 562 will be in its forward position. However, when inthe continued operation of the` machine the ange former |85 hasperformed its second wipe and is approaching the upper limit of itsstroke the slidable bar 552 will by this time have been moved rearwardlyowing to the high part 568 of the cam B having reached its cam roll 518and consequently on the second downward movement of the head 564 at thelower end of the rod 560 the head will engage the arm 536 of the latch532 swinging the latch aside and permitting the arm 554 on the rockshaft||3 to rise to disengage the clutch. Shortly after the clutchdisengagement the cam roll 526 engaging the cam A will reach thebeginning of the elevation 546 on the cam A causing the lever 5l8carrying the latch 532 to rise and allowing the latch to swing, in aclockwise direction as looked at from the righthand side, so that thelower arm 542 of the latch comes once more into position over the arm544 on the rockshaft H3 ready for the next cycle of operation. The speedof rotation of the cam shaft 556 carrying the cams A and B will be insuch relation to the speed of rotation of the pulley |85 that suflicienttime will elapse between the disengagement of the clutch and theinauguration of the next cycle by the end of the elevation 546 on thecam A reaching the cam roll 526 to allow the completion of the ruimingbackq motion of the drive shaft |25; so that the parts will bein properposition with the male mold |6| lowered by the time the clutch is nexttripped.

The illustrative machine is provided with a picker arm 261 which iseiective to doif a counter frem vthe male mold |6| after it has beenmolded by the machine. The picker arm is secured to the endv of a shaft265, mounted in a bracket xed to the machine frame, and the shaft 265has xed to it at its rearward end a bevel gear 263 which meshes with abevel gear 26| secured to the right hand end portion of a shaft 229which is rotated yat intervals in the manner described in said LettersPatent No. 1,742,306.

The rockshaft H3 has fixed thereto a lever through a slot lin which thetreadle rod E89 passes, the rod having a catch piece 213 above the slot.A spring 21| tends normally to hold the rod |89 4in rearward position sothat the catch piece 213 engages the lever Ill. The machine may bestarted by means of the treadle rod |88 if it is desired to do so forany reason at a time when the cam shaft 500 is not being rctated. Theshaft 229 carries a disk 351 having a depression therein within which,when the machine is running and the shaft 229 is stationary, rests a camroll 389 carried upon the vertical arm of a bell crank lever 3|I. Thehorizontal arm of this lever is connected by a rod 3|3 to a second bellcrank lever SI1 which in turn is connected to a rod 3 l 9 that passesthrough a hole in the treadle rod E99 and has a collar 32| bearingagainst the rear of the treadle rod. The arrangement is such that Whenthe picker arm 261 is in anything but its rest position, i. e., when thecam roll 399 engages in the depression in the disk Si?, the rod BISmaintains the treadle rod S56 in a forward position and thus renders thecatch piece 213 inoperative for engagement with the lever Ill.

Mechanism is also provi-ded in the illustrative machine for enabling theclutch of the machine to thrown out at any time after it has beenoperated by the lever 5&8, after the latter has depressed, if theoperator desires for any reason to stop the operation of the machine,and mechanism is also provided for preventing clutching of the machineby depression of the lever 596 except when the picker arm' 261 is in itsrest position. With these purposes in View the following parts areprovided. The shaft 229 carries a second disk 586 located to the left ofthe disk 301. The disk 586 has a depression, in which there is engaged,when the picker arm 261 is in its rest position, a cam roll 588 carriedon one arm of a bell-crank lever 599 pivoted at 592 on the machineframe. The other arm of the bell-crank lever 599 has connected to it theupper end of a link 5913. Pivoted to the link 594 is the forward end ofa lever 596 which is pivoted near its middle to the fixed bracket 566 ona stud 598. The rearward end portion of the lever 596 overlies the upperend of a vertical rod 699 slidably mounted in a bore in the bracket 566.A compression spring 682 housed between a head at the upper end of therod 688 and the bracket 566 maintains the rod 609 thrust upwardly intoengagement with the lever 596. The lower end of the rod 569 overlies thearm 538 of the latch 532. When the cam roll 588 is engaged in thedepression in the disk 586, i. e., when the picker arm is in its initialrest position, the rod 600 does not interfere with the arm 538 of thelatch. When, however, the cam roll 588 is moved out of the depression inthe disk 586 the rod 600 is depressed and thereby turns the latchcounterclockwise (as looked at from the right-hand side) and causes thearm 552 of the latch to be swung aside from the arm 568. Thus should, inthe operation of the machine, the picker arm 261 become jammed in aposition other than its initial position, the parts just describedprevent the machine again being clutched until the picker arm has beenreleased. Pivotally mounted near its middle on the frame of the machineis a lever 6% the forward end portion of which is connected to a treadlerod 686 and the rearward end portion of which underlies the lower end ofthe link 595. A treadle is connected to the treadle rod 686 anddepression of this treadle is eiective, at any time during the operationof the machine to raise the link 594 which in turn will depress the rod660 through the lever 596 to swing the latch. 532 so that its arm 542 ismoved away from the arm 554 and the last named arm is permitted to riseto disengage the clutch should it be desired to stop the machine onaccount of faulty blank insertion in the molds or for any other reason.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A counter molding machine' comprising molding means, drivingV means,a clutch f or operatively connecting the driving means to the moldingmeans, a continuously driven cam for causing engagement of the clutch,means operated by a part of the machine which is movable to engage thework fordisengaging the clutch, and a second cam operative to render theclutch disengaging means effective only at a predetermined stage in theoperation of the machine.

2. A counter molding machine comprising a plurality of molds, drivingmeans for causing relative movement of the molds to shape a counterblank positioned between the molds, a clutch effective when engaged tocouple the driving means to the molds, automatic means for causingengagement of said clutch, means operated by a part of the machine whichis movable to operate upon the work for causing disengagement of saidclutch, and automatic means for rendering said last-named meanseffective to disengage said clutch only at a predetermined stage in thecycle of operation of the machine.

3. A counter molding machine comprising a plurality of molds cooperableto shape the body portion of a counter blank positioned between them, aflange former movable across the faces or 'the molds to form flangesupon the blank, means for actuating the molds and flange formerincluding power means and a clutch, automatic means operableintermittently to eiect engagement and disengagement of the clutch, andmeans operable in timed relation to the movement of the iiange former toprevent disengagement of the clutch except at a predetermined stage inthe movement of the iiange former.

4. A counter molding machine comprising a plurality of molds cooperableto shape the body portion of a counter blank positioned between them, aflange former movable across the faces of the molds to form flanges uponthe blank, means for actuating the molds and flange former comprisingpower means, a drive shaft, and a clutch constructed and arranged whenin engagement with the power means to cause operation of the molds andiiange former from the drive shaft, automatic means for intermittentlycausing engagement of the clutch, and a member operating in timedrelation to the ange. former to cause disengagement of `the clutch.

5. A counter molding machine comprising a plurality of molds movable toshape a counter blank positioned between them, a flange former movableacross the -faces of the molds to form flanges upon the blank, a driveshaft for causing operation of the molds and iiange former, a clutch forconnecting the drive shaft to a source of power, means for controllingthe clutch including a latch, a continuously rotatable cam, meansoperatively connected Yto the cam'for intermittently actuating the latchto cause engagement of the clutch, a member adjacent to the latch butnormally out of engagement therewith and movable with the flange former,a second continuously rotatable cam, and means operatively connecte-d tosaid last-mentioned cam for moving said member into position to engagethe latch to elfect disengagement of the clutch at a predetermined stagein the cycle of operation of the machine.

LESLIE HUGH BENNION. WILLIAM ARNOLD SMART.

